[lalailaParticipant]

the top3 PG potential is still there for sure(i’m we can still talk about being the best if we are talking about his ceiling like we did back in 2010) when healthy he is a stud..

how good he has been in past weeks, tonight he is better than ever, with 4mins left in the game Wall has 41pts!!

and most importantly Wizards looks like playoffs team with him healthy and tonight they look to get a win against strong Memphis team

[HaleParticipant]

All I can say is finally. It was getting hard to constantly defend Wall, and boy was he hated earlier in the year.

Side note: 5-28 without Wall, 21-16 with him.

[akhan786Participant]

For some reason I feel like people who are big time fans of other point guards feel obligated to hate on any other point guard. This is what happened to Wall earlier in the year.

I don’t really get it. I mean this is the NBA, just because you like one player doesn’t mean you can’t like the other. Me personally I love CP3, Rondo, Kyrie, Westbrook, Wall, Steph, Lawson, Bledsoe, and I’m probably forgetting others.

I’m just trying to relish this era in the NBA where we have so many amazing point guards.

[chall23Participant]

And Vesely broke his DNP streak with some quality mins!!

[Pistol Pete. The PelicanParticipant]

Amen! But it’s not just point guards it’s any player debate, such as Lebron or Kobe, or Durant vs. Melo. Even if you don’t put the other player down other people will get mad, because you’re giving someone else props and being objective.

Earlier in the year, I got like a minus 15 on a post for saying John Wall has the potential to still be better than Kyrie.

Well 47 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, a steal and a block tonight, 13-22 shooting, and only 2 turnovers, but also the other night against the Lakers 24 points, 16 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals.

He’s playing great lately. They’re 21-16 with him, they were 5-28 without him.
ESPN said he was the 2nd most indispensable point guard behind Chris Paul and people are seeing why.

John Wall’s last 10 games not counting tonight…. 20.7 points, 2 steals, 0.7 blocks, 8.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 52% shooting.
This season he’s averaging 15.9 points, 7.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks, while shooting 45% and remember he was limited for his first 12 games.

His potential is still there, dude is finally figuring it out and i’m proud to say i’m a fan and i’ve stuck with him through the injuries and haters. Last year and before the injuries people pretty much through him out of the conversation for young point guards, and he’s forcing himself back into that conversation.

[IknoBall12Participant]

I was reading an article in Slam as the season began and wall was talking about having to sit and watch other players get better and become stars and how he was falling behind. He was saying he takes mental notes of everything and everyone whom he wants to go at and destroy and said when he does get healthy that the league better take notice. Apparently everyone who said he wasn’t good and would be just another bust struck a nerve in mr wall. What he’s been doing later this season is reminiscent of what rose was doing in his MVP season. Except for the wins that is

[IknoBall12Participant]

I was reading an article in Slam as the season began and wall was talking about having to sit and watch other players get better and become stars and how he was falling behind. He was saying he takes mental notes of everything and everyone whom he wants to go at and destroy and said when he does get healthy that the league better take notice. Apparently everyone who said he wasn’t good and would be just another bust struck a nerve in mr wall. What he’s been doing later this season is reminiscent of what rose was doing in his MVP season. Except for the wins that is

[samosasParticipant]

in the day and age of the internet if you aren’t a star immediately then everyone calls you a bust. you have one bad game and ‘he’s losing his edge’. he has played <200 basketball games.

[WetalkinboutpracticeParticipant]

facts!

[halfdecayedParticipant]

Had Wall not been injured, the Wizards would be in the playoffs this year..

[Pistol Pete. The PelicanParticipant]

John Wall is still younger than this year’s most likely rookie of the year Damien Lillard.

[ilike.panochasParticipant]

Wall is finally starting to fulfill that huge potential, and it due to the fact that he is no longer surrounded by a bunch of immature/selfish players. Although they are good NBA players, Javale McGee, Nick Young, Andray Blatche, Gilbert Arenas really hindered Wall’s development as a player, as well as injuries. Now he is surrounded by professionals who work hard and good character players like Okafor, Nene, and even playing alongside Brad Beal who is a scrappy guard. I expect Wall to take the next step next season and be a 20/10 PG, he has the ability to do so.

[IGO4TWParticipant]

Give him a max contract cause this guy has arrived

[Taylor Gang MikeParticipant]

Jimmy got BUSY

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

FINALLY…

Ive been waiting for this kind of breakout game for him…Like somebody said earlier, it was getting hard to defend Wall’s game, but it has now become apparent that the only thing holding him back (besides a real, consistent jumper) was injuries.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves and automatically think the Wizards are a playoff team…

I remember 2 or 3 years ago people were making the “Wizards are a playoff team” claim…I constantly shot them down and got negative points for it, and it hasnt happened. In fact, it hasnt happened since 2008. I love the back-court of Wall and Beal, and Nene has been solid when healthy. But the rest of the team are role players. Okafor is a good rebounder (12.49 million), Ariza is a good defender (7 million), Singleton is a nice prospect, and Booker brings some energy off the bench, but other than that they have nothing. Vesely is a role player at best and the Wizards constantly blow the draft (Wall and Beal were no-brainers i honestly thought).

With the draft being considered “weak”, I wouldnt mind if they traded back in the draft for more picks/young players.

[festar35Participant]

I would still rather have Paul George, but a part from that I can say I would take anyone else from that class ahead of him from what I have seen lately.

[mcbaileyParticipant]

Wow, you got killed for this. I don’t necessarily agree, but it’s not a negative-eleven type of ridiculous.

Wall was pretty raw when he first came in, really, but he’s getting better. He probably would have improved faster on a better team with better coaches. Paul George had the luxury of being with a pretty solid coaching staff with the Pacers. Paul is a better player right now with as-of-yet undiscovered potential, but John Wall has so much potential, it’s scary. If he could add a jumper to go along with his insane speed, he’ll be deadly.

All in all, if I’m betting towards the future, Wall and George will be first and second in that class, respectively.

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

yeah ive been supporting john wall this whole time….. about damn time he came thru with a huge game… but its one game… gotta see what he will with a full healthy season

[omphalosParticipant]

Honestly I think the biggest change in Wall’s performance has been getting him out of those damn Reeboks. It was a nice gesture that he signed with Reebok because they discovered him, but the shoes they were making for him were MUCH heavier than those of his opponents, and when you take a guy whose outrageous speed is his biggest strength and slow him down you have a recipe for disaster.

Also, outside of just being generally heavier, the Wall shoes were AWFUL for lateral movement and were a killer on your knees because it was like you were always running down hill, which alters the point of impact and causes more wear and tear on your knees than necessary. It might make you a little faster, but it’s awful for sudden changes of pace.

I’ve been mentioning this on occasion for the past year now, and it got to the point that I seriously considered trying to contact Wall and presenting my theory to beg him to get out of Zigtech shoes for the sake of his health. There’s no bigger validation to me that he was out for weeks on end on rest to prevent a stress reaction in his knee, and then as soon as he announced the switch to adidas we haven’t heard anything about his “bad knees” ever since.

Wall’s progress has been slowed down by nagging injuries his first few seasons, but for those people saying the Wizards aren’t a playoff team, their record with Wall in the lineup is better than a number of lower-seeded playoff teams, and I stand by my prediction that this team would have been in the playoffs if they were healthy all season.

@Bmore_DC: They have three scorers/stars in Wall, Nene and Beal, what is wrong with the rest of the players being role players? This team is a lot more balanced and deep than people realise; they have catch and shoot guys in Webster and Ariza, good perimeter defenders in Ariza and Wall, a great interior presence with the Nene/Okafor combination (the latter of whom has woken up from his slumber since Wall’s return) and Seraphin/Booker off the bench (the former showing signs of being a solid low-post scorer as he matures). That sounds like a very balanced team to me, almost everyone has a defined role, they don’t have any glaring weaknesses after bringing in shooters and they have a mix of veterans and young players with upside. This team is not only a playoff team when healthy now, it should remain so for years to come as the young guys mature to pick up the slack from the older players regressing.

All the team really lacks is guard depth, but Beal and Wall are both capable of playing big minutes, so that’s not really an issue at this point.

I gotta make sure I watch this game though, 47 points for a dude with no jumper is unreal.

[nick5354Participant]

I agree. Wall isn’t playing with a bunch of crap on the team. Sent a bunch of players out the door and the team is looking nice. Not great but nice. I like what Washingon have done to this team.

[GronounoursParticipant]

Is this theory about his shoes based on hard facts, or is it just a guess? You’d think Reebok can manufacture shoes than don’t hurt players. Blaming Wall’s injuries on his shoes is quite radical.

I’m not saying you’re talking BS, but I’d like to read more about that.

[omphalosParticipant]

If you want to read more about it look into the effects of constantly running downhill on your knees – there should be plenty of hard facts saying it’s a bad idea – the running downhill thing was part of their advertising campaign I’m pretty sure, it’s got a much higher heel than toe, which places unnecessary stress on your knees by forcing them into playing even more of a shock absorption role because the force of the impact isn’t distributed evenly.

But yeah, this isn’t a guess, it’s just prinicples of biomechanics applied to a new situation.

[frogmanParticipant]

This is a joke right? Surely you were never considering getting into contact with him, that’s just hilarious. “Hey Johnno some random dude from Australia wants to make a presentation to you about you’re footwear selection, please wire him $2000 for a plane ticket.”

[omphalosParticipant]

Yes, clearly I was going to do it face to face, because there’s no way to make a presentation to someone in another country without a plane ticket, because I’m clearly not talking to you right now.

As a sports fan (and a person) I want people to reach their potential, and it distresses me to see people make bad choices which hold them back to the point where if I can help I usually try to; I think we’ve missed out on too much already with the cases of Ben Wilson, Len Bias, Reggie Lewis and other potential greats whose careers were cut short or never started.

Also, at the other guy, I didn’t/don’t have the hard facts because I never formalised my argument, but having experienced a LOT of knee/lower limb injuries and undergone the rehab and had a LOT of biomechanics drilled into me I had a pretty good hunch what was causing his “potential stress reaction” and why “rest” wasn’t the right treatment.

The weight of the shoes and their unsuitability for lateral movement is 100% legit though, I’ve balled in a lot of different shoes, and none were so bad for defensive movements as a guard than the Reebok Zigtech Slash.

You have to understand the position Reebok was in with Wall; they were owned by adidas and competing with Nike. Adidas got the best new technologies as the parent company, and it would only be profitable if Reebok offered an alternative; so they turned to a successful technology in their running division (Zigtech) and tried to apply it to basketball, but even though it simply doesn’t work in this context, it was a LOT more marketable and sold a lot more than a generic basketball shoe would have – the potential for injury was outweighed by profit – plus it was relatively new tech at the time and they couldn’t really playtest it, and it cap it all off, Wall is a unique specimen whose speed and the degree of forces acting upon his body cause problems to reveal themselves that wouldn’t necessarily result in injury in other, lesser athletes.

[tiberiusParticipant]

John Wall!!!! What a legend!!! Glimmer of hope for DC!!! 😀

[aamir543Participant]

Like everyone else, I thought he was the next great of of UK, but like everyone I started having doubts this year but he has really come into his own. He’s looking like a real star right now, I know I’m sounding like a huge flip flopper, but Wall vs. Irving is starting to become a debate again, especially since Wall has been big time the past 3 weeks and the Wizards have been a playoff team with Wall.

[festar35Participant]

Wall vs Irving vs Lillard could be fun!!! They all came into league traveling different paths and all have their own unique style of basketball, should be fun to watch those guys play.

[nick5354Participant]

To be fair to Kyrie if you replace Nene with TT, Okafor for Zeller, it would be a different story

[cisdopeParticipant]

Wall played without Beal, Nene, Ariza, Price, and Webster tonight.. That’s pretty much the main core of all of the Wizards offense and he still managed to get 8 assists and would’ve had more if his teammates were knocking down their shots, look Wall is a special player that YES has been inconsistent but looks like he is finally putting it together. Both Irving and Wall have potential to be All stars for a long time, hope they do and we all get to enjoy the rivalry.

[Cavaliers420Participant]

John freaking Wall, what a beast of a game!

[BenchWarmerParticipant]

It was only a matter of time. And people that actually watched this kid play should know that, young pgs thrust into a team usually take time to understand what works and what doesnt. Hopefully he countinues to work on his pull up j similar to westbrook. Also developing his outside shot will go along way. Hopefully sam cassell stays around.

[stepback3Participant]

Would have liked to of seen what would have happened if Memphis had Marc Gasol there to control the paint. Not knocking John Wall but I think his 24 FTA would have been less if they had a center on the floor especially one as good as Marc.

[stepback3Participant]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/photos?photoId=2836457&gameId=400278768

[JordoParticipant]

Can’t wait until next season. I can confidently say Wall will have his breakout and who knows how big of a jump Beal could make if he puts in the work this off season and has Wall and Nene healthy from day 1. They just need to not screw up the draft, re-sign Martell Webster(who’s has been playing so well for them), bring in some veteran guard depth(like a Jarrett Jack, Andre Miller type) and this team could really be a surprise and make the playoffs. Especially with the East being weak those 6-8 spots are wide open

[JoeWolf1]

I’ve always maintained, of any of the young PG’s in the league, he has the best shot at a 20/10 season. I’ve always loved his ability to distribute, especially on the break and some work to his jumper A ALA Derrick Rose would make him a 20 ppg scorer.

[FearTheStacheParticipant]

I think he is the 1st hybrid between the Pure PG’s (Rondo, Paul), the scoring PG’s(Kyrie, Curry, Holiday) and the athlete PG’s(Westbrook, Rose). When he wants to, he can dish it, he can score, and he is a ridiculous athlete. Besides D Rose, no other PG can really do that on a nightly basis.

[surveParticipant]

I constantly defend Wall on this site. I truly feel as though barring injuries there is no way the guy wont be a top 3 PG for many years. People are so fickle and they base everything on a players potential without even giving them time to reach it! Quick to give up on a player when he doesnt come in and lead his team to the Finals in his first 3 years or make the All Star team in his 2nd year. As I say all the time….different players develop at different rates and rely heavily on circumstances. So many HOF players, PG’s at that…that didnt burst out the gate. On this site one minute people are bashing you, then the next they are singing your praises….or vise versa. John Wall is the truth…and he really dont even know how to play yet.

[HuRRiCaNeS324Participant]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_I4hhRKVjU

Thought you guys would want to see it again or for the first time.

He’s shooting with so much more confidence, looks like Westbrook out there with all those pull ups.

[surveParticipant]

he obviously has been working on his jumpshot, but it looks like he is more confident and smooth with his jumper now. his balance and technique looks more fluid and natural than in the past. confidence is a helluva thing. all he has to do is take the time to work on his game, which it looks as if he is doing and he will be just fine.

[surveParticipant]

that stepback….hot damn!

[kingofbumsParticipant]

i posted a week ago that the work he has put into his jumpshot will do him justice…and man was i right. his athleticism allows him to shoot right above other guards especially being a bigger pg than most. if he can continue to get that jumper going, a new debate will come up for the next decade…kyrie vs wall.

[HitsterParticipant]

Huge game by Wall especially as Nene and Webster were both out, so he almost knew he had to step up and carry the scoring. Y2G hit it on the head that with Wall in the line up they are statistically a play off team and minus the idiots the locker room now looks a lot more settled with young talent lead by Wall and solid veterans such as Nene.

If the Wizards roster stays fit all next season they have the ability to be above or close to .500 and a possible play off birth. Also they need to get Wall tied up to a 5 year extension at or near max level.

[HaleParticipant]

I’m loving his progression as the year comes along, man he’s getting really good really quickly. His field goal percentage is going up, he’s getting super productive in 4 less minutes per game then last season, he’s getting to the line at an awesome rate recently and he’s cutting down the turnovers. We might be witnessing the best group of PG’s as a whole ever right now.

[Author]

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